Ducks Draft Weekend in Review

The Entry Draft has come and gone and no real blockbusters were announced. The Ducks made a few minor moves and here are my thoughts on those as well as the youngsters selected by the Ducks in this year’s draft itself.

First-round: Ducks trade their #16 pick to Minnesota for the #19 and #42 picks and select Logan MacMillan

I really like this move. While there is no way to tell 100% that Burke didn’t miss out on their man (I thought in my blog post last week the Ducks should take Colton Gillies at #16 - exactly what Minnesota did) the general consensus is Anaheim were quite confident their player would still be around at #19, so they basically picked up a 2nd-rounder (of which they had none this year) for free. The Ducks have struck gold with the 19th pick before with one Ryan Getzlaf in 2003.

Now about the player chosen. Logan MacMillan is considered by many to be a safe pick, much like last year’s first-round selection Mark Mitera. The Halifax center does a little bit of everything, but does it well (just ask his coach). His improved play as the season went on and especially in the playoffs is a trait the Ducks covet. Looking into the future I believe he can be a solid #2-3 center on this team,but more importantly will step things up in the playoffs.

Second-round: Ducks select Eric Tangradi at #42

Another C with many of the same qualities as MacMillan. Eric is a big boy at 6′3″ and 207 lbs. and while having an unimpressive season mostly playing on the third line, he really stepped it up when things mattered most in the playoffs filling in for injuries and getting top-line time. This upcoming season he’ll have more playing time to prove if his post-season play as a fluke or not.

Third-round: Ducks tap Maxime Macenauer with the 63rd pick

I really can’t say I know much about Maxime other than many feel he is a boom or bust prospect. Another center, Burke seemed to opt to take a risk with his third-rounder which is just fine with me. Time will tell how things pan out.

Fourth-round: Anaheim chooses Justin Vaive, Steven Kampfer, Sebastian Stefaniszin and Mattias Modig (with the 92nd, 93rd, 98th and 121st picks respectively)

Burke must like his fourth-round picks. Having four of them to spare, Burke went with one LW, one Dman and 2 goalies. Vaive has potential to be an agitating 4th-line player, perhaps with a ceiling not unlike that of Travis Moen.

Kampfer is someone that while projected as a number 5 defenseman, could easily rise up the ranks as he continues to develop. Some Ducks’ fans have gone so far as to call him Anaheim’s sleeper pick of the draft. That remains to be seen, but I’m seeing him as having the potential to become a sturdy partner for Chris Pronger should Pronger still be around by the time Steven is ready.

Lastly, the two goalies. I don’t know that much about either one, but the Ducks can use the depth as after losing Leighton and Wall last season and possibly trading Bryzgalov this year, there isn’t a whole lot of depth left. Modig intrigues me and I see him being a solid backup one day if things go well.

Fifth-round: Brett Morrison is selected.

Yet another center, Morrison should have been selected earlier than he was by someone. The reasons he fell so far are anyone’s guess but this guy is another youngster who raises his game after the regular season ends. We’ll see how he progresses in the Q this year but a few years down the road he could make a fine 2nd-liner. I do see him converting to wing though if he ever wants a shot at the Ducks roster.

There you have it, another draft in the books. I think Anaheim played it safe and took players they could count on to give it their all. The kind of players that lead them to the Holy Grail of hockey.